There are plenty of tools and apps out there for creating your own GIFs, but few are as straightforward to use as Imgur's new offering. Even better, it uses the better-quality, more lightweight format that Imgur has been busy developing. Here's how you can get a customized GIF from any YouTube or Vimeo clip in a few seconds.

Head over to the Video to GIF site set up by Imgur and paste in your URL of choice. We got it working with clips from YouTube, Vimeo and Vine, though Imgur says that "hundreds" of video sites are supported. Once your URL has been recognized and processed, you'll see a preview of it in the window below. It'll also start playing, though the sound is muted by default.

Drag the white slider underneath the preview window to the point where you want the GIF to start; You'll also get the chance to add a text overlay. Use the second slider to set the duration of the GIF (between half a second and 15 seconds) and you're just about done. Click Create GIF and after some processing time you'll find your finished clip is shown on Imgur ready to be shared or saved as required. If your file is over 10MB, Imgur will automatically convert it to a GIFV file, which is far more efficient, but also a little less traditionally portable.

While it doesn't offer an abundance of customization options, Imgur's new tool is simple and easy to use if you just want to chop out part of a video clip on YouTube or another similar site. If it isn't quite what you're looking for, then a few alternatives we'd recommend are Giffing Tool, ImgFlip and MakeAGif, though you can of course use desktop applications such as GIMP and Photoshop if you prefer.